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'VNew  Education 

In  the  Church  Series 


W.  FlDDIAN  !MoULTON,  M.A. 
St.  John's  College,  Cambridge 


J895 

MEADVILLE  PENNA : 

FLOOD  &  VINCENT 

C\)t  <$bautauqua--<Centurp  JBreft 


tXt 


(J5i0fe  as  Zifcxatuvt 


BY 

W.   FIDDIAN  MOULTON,  M.A. 

St.  John's   College,  Cambridge 


MEADVILLE.    PENXA  : 

FLOOD  AND  VINCENT 

Cbt  «Cbautauqua--5Centutn  press 

1895 


Copyright,  1895 
By  Flood  &  Vincent 


The  Chautauqua- Century  Press,  Meadville,  Pa.,  U.  S.  A. 
Electrotyped,  Printed,  and  Bound  by  Flood  &  Vincent, 


PREFACE. 

By  Professor  R.  G.  Moulton,  of  the  University 
of  Chicago. 

I  have  been  requested  to  say  a  few  words 
as  preface  to  this  little  book,  written  by  my 
nephew,  on  the  Bible  as  literature.  The 
title  is  a  wide  one  :  but  I  think  the  writer  is 
well  advised  in  confining  himself  to  the  side 
of  literary  treatment  most  urgently  required 
in  the  case  of  sacred  literature,  and  explain- 
ing, with  as  much  clearness  as  the  brief 
limits  permit,  the  chief  forms  of  literature 
contained  in  the  Bible  and  Apocrypha. 

The  question  is  often  asked,  What  is  ex- 
actly meant  by  the  term  ' '  literary  study  ' '  in 
application  to  Scripture  ?  There  can  be  no 
better  way  of  answering  this  question  than  to 
take  a  specific  portion  of  the  Bible,  and 
illustrate  the  literary  treatment  in  compari- 
son with  other  and  familiar  modes  of  study. 

Let  the  reader  refresh  his  memory  by 
reading  the  twenty-fourth  psalm.  He  will 
feel  no  difficulty  in  understanding  how  this 


iv  Preface. 

portion  of  Scripture  would  be  handled  by  the 
religious  or  theological  student.  The  psalm 
would  be  read  through  as  a  devotional  exer- 
cise, perhaps  with  responsive  reading.  Again, 
the  early  verses  would  make  a  text  for  a 
sermon  on  purity  as  a  condition  for  worship  ; 
the  later  verses  might  be  applied  to  the  cele- 
bration of  an  article  of  the  creed — the  Ascent 
of  Christ  into  Heaven. 

Another  treatment  of  the  psalm  would  be 
the  historic  analysis,  now  usually  associated 
with  the  "higher  criticism."  A  critic  of 
this  order  would,  in  the  case  of  the  twenty- 
fourth  psalm,  be  especially  struck  with  the 
break  in  the  poem  at  the  end  of  the  sixth 
verse,  by  which  the  two  halves  of  the  psalm 
seem  totally  dissimilar  in  matter  and  style. 
With  his  special  bias  to  find  the  solution  of 
all  difficulties  in  historic  considerations,  the 
' '  higher  critic ' '  would  lay  down  that  we 
have  here,  not  one  psalm,  but  two  :  the  later 
verses  having  the  dramatic  form  that  sug- 
gests poetry  of  an  early  age,  the  first  six 
verses  exhibiting  the  reflective  style  of  later 
literature  ;  while  the  combination  of  the  two 
in  one  must  be  the  mistake  of  some  trans- 
criber or  editor. 

The  purely  literary  student  would  have  a 


Preface.  v 

purpose  different  from  either  of  the  two  de- 
scribed so  far.  He  would  approach  the 
psalm  with  the  inquiry,  Where  are  we  to 
place  this  in  a  classification  of  literary  forms  ? 
Is  it  epic,  lyric,  dramatic,  or  what  ?  A  little 
study  would  lead  him  to  classify  both  por- 
tions of  the  psalm  with  "  Occasional  Odes," 
or  better,  as  "Anthems."  Having  got  so 
far,  he  would  naturally  ask  whether  the 
difference  between  the  two  anthems  might 
not  be  explained  by  their  connection  with 
varying  portions  of  some  ceremonial  occa- 
sion. This  occasion  is  easily  found  in  the 
Inauguration  of  Jerusalem  by  David,  when 
the  ark  was  escorted  in  solemn  procession 
from  its  resting  place  in  the  hill  country  to 
the  newly  captured  fortress  (2  Samuel  vi. ). 
The  first  six  verses  make  an  anthem  to  be 
sung  as  the  procession  halts  at  the  foot  of 
the  hill  on  which  the  city  stands  ;  hence  the 
relevancy  of  its  inquiry,  "Who  shall  ascend 
into  the  hill  of  the  Lord?  "  The  latter  part 
of  the  psalm  is  the  crowning  anthem  of  the 
ceremony,  performed  in  front  of  the  ancient 
gates  of  the  fortress.  Hence  its  military  and 
dramatic  form  :  a  summons  of  the  city  to  re- 
ceive its  King,  answered  by  a  challenge  of 
the  warders  from  within. 


vi  Preface. 

Army — Lift  up  your  heads,  O  ye  gates,     .     .     . 

That  the  King  of  Glory  may  come  in. 
Warders — Who  is  the  King  of  Glory  ? 

Thus  the  two  anthems  that  make  up  the 
psalm  fit  into  the  two  parts  of  the  day's 
ceremonial,  as  a  key  fits  into  the  wards  of  a 
lock. 

Why  is  it  that  this  ' '  literary  study  of  the 
Bible"  is  only  just  now  coming  to  be  a 
prominent  topic  of  discussion  ?  The  answer 
is  simple.  The  literary  character  of  Holy 
Scripture  has  always  been  familiar  to  those 
who  read  in  the  Hebrew  and  Greek,  but 
the  English  reader  was  excluded  from  it 
until  the  publication  of  the  Revised  Version. 
The  Authorized  Version  is  full  of  beauty, 
but  its  beauties  are  all  of  single  verses.  Its 
translators  thought  of  little  beyond  giving 
readers  stores  of  ' '  good  words ' ' ;  its  un- 
intelligent division  into  chapters  and  verses 
makes  a  monotony  of  form  under  which  all 
literary  structure — of  songs,  sonnets,  dra- 
matic dialogue,  essay,  discourse — lies  buried; 
when  the  reader  of  this  translation  desires  to 
understand  the  connectedness  of  thought,  he 
must  go  to  the  original  languages  to  find  out 
what  his  English  version  means.  Accord- 
ingly, to  the  great  majority  of  readers,  the 


Preface.  vii 

Bible  is  no  more  than  isolated  verses,  isolated 
texts  :  as  if  the  Bible  were  a  divine  scrap- 
book.  The  Revised  Version  makes  it  possi- 
ble for  a  mere  English  reader  to  go  through 
the  book  of  Job,  and  by  himself  follow  all  of  its 
drift  and  turns  of  argument ;  in  the  historical 
books  the  Revised  Version  makes  clear  to 
his  eye  when  Moses  or  Balaam  breaks  out 
into  poetry  ;  even  in  Solomon' s  Song  he  can 
see  that  he  is  reading  poetic  dialogue. 
Whether  it  is  wholesome  even  in  religious 
study  to  rest  upon  texts  apart  from  context 
is  a  serious  question.  But  it  is  a  certainty 
that  the  reader  who  desires  to  appreciate  the 
literary  beauty  of  the  Bible  must  do  his 
reading  in  the  Revised  Version. 

R.   G.   Moulton. 


INTRODUCTION. 

For  this  brief  account  of  the  literary  aspect 
of  the  Bible  no  better  motto,  perhaps,  can  be 
selected  than  Lord  Macaulay's  celebrated  say- 
ing that  the  Bible  is  a  "  well  of  English,  pure 
and  undefiled  "  ;  for  in  these  words  lies  the 
recognition,  by  one  who  was  himself  one  of 
the  very  greatest  masters  of  the  English 
tongue,  that  the  Bible  has  a  literary  as  well 
as  a  religious  raison  d' itre.  And  this  may 
well  be  the  case  without  impairing  in  the 
slightest  degree  its  supreme  position  as  the 
keystone  of  the  Christian  religion.  Not  once, 
nor  twice,  but  times  without  number  have 
men  come  to  this  well  to  draw,  and  have  found 
one  sitting  there  who  has  spoken  to  them,  as 
man  never  spake,  concerning  God,  and  life, 
and  duty ;  and  they,  who  came  only  to  drink 
of  this  well  of  English  undefiled,  have  gone 
away  with  their  thirst  quenched  with  the 
Water  of  Life.  There  is  involved,  therefore, 
no  conflict  between  the  literary  and  the  spirit- 
ual study  of  the  Bible  :  for  all  genuine  study, 
from   either  standpoint,    must  result  in   in- 


x  Introduction. 

creased  appreciation  of  its  spiritual  value; 
and  the  same  method  of  study  which  is  es- 
sential for  a  true  appreciation  of  its  literary 
beauty — namely,  consecutive  and  compre- 
hensive study,  as  opposed  to  concentration 
upon  isolated  texts — is  equally  essential  for 
the  full  understanding  of  its  spiritual  teach- 
ing. When  this  is  adopted,  the  Bible  will  be 
realized  to  be  at  the  same  time  a  storehouse 
of  religious  instruction  and  a  library  of  liter- 
ary masterpieces.  In  it  there  are  contained 
specimens  of  all  the  fundamental  types  of 
literature  which  we  are  accustomed  to  recog- 
nize to-day,  and  moreover  the  types  are  to 
be  found  in  their  highest  expression.  This 
will  become  more  clear  if  I  sum  up  concisely 
the  subject  matter  of  the  Bible,  and  then  pro- 
ceed to  show  how  all  the  various  literary  types 
within  its  limits  serve  to  illustrate  and  en- 
force its  central  facts. 

The  Bible  is  the  record  of  the  dealings  ot 
God  with  one  small  section  of  the  human 
race,  which  He  had  selected  as  the  medium 
for  His  revelation  of  Himself  to  the  race. 
This  purpose  necessarily  involves  the  record- 
ing of  yet  more- primitive  times  before  the 
differentiation  of  this  family  had  taken  place  ; 
but  the  whole  record  is  shaped    with   this 


Introduction.  xi 

end  in  view,  and  whatever  is  said  concern- 
ing other  races  is  only  introduced  in  so 
far  as  it  bears  upon  the  fortunes  of  the 
chosen  people.  The  development  of  that 
people  is  traced  through  the  successive 
stages  of  patriarchal,  theocratic,  and  mon- 
archic government ;  until  after  a  long  and 
checkered  period  of  probation  they  reach 
the  point  at  which  the  time  is  ripe  for  the 
final  consummation  of  the  revelation  up  to 
which  everything  has  tended  in  the  long  and 
varied  past,  and  with  that  revelation,  in  the 
person  of  the  Messiah  and  in  the  teaching  of 
his  immediate  followers,  the  Bible  closes. 

Such  is,  in  very  brief  terms,  the  central 
historical  framework  upon  which  the  sacred 
writings  hang,  and  which  in  their  turn  they 
elucidate  and  verify  ;  to  use  another  figure  of 
speech,  if  the  above  historical  record  of  the 
Bible  be  the  stem  of  the  tree,  then  the  rest  of 
the  Scriptures  are  the  branches  and  the 
leaves,  in  vital  connection  with  the  stem,  and 
contributing  beauty  and  completeness  to  its 
growth.  Take,  for  instance,  the  book  of 
Genesis,  where  there  are  eleven  chapters  of 
chronicle,  containing  just  two  or  three  epi- 
sodes told  in  detail,  followed  by  thirty-nine 
chapters   dealing  with   patriarchal  authority 


xii  Introduction. 

and  customs,  and  dealing  with  them,  not  in 
the  matter-of-fact  style  of  a  chronicler,  but 
after  the  manner  of  a  poet  who  would  fain 
impress  his  message  upon  the  imagination. 
From  the  standpoint  of  pure  history  this 
would  show  grievous  want  of  proportion  : 
the  historical  requirements  for  these  patri- 
archal pictures  would  be  little  more  than 
half  a  dozen  chapters  ;  why  fill  thirty-nine  ? 
Because  the  grafting  of  this  epic  element 
on  to  the  chronicle  is  invaluable  for  the  pur- 
pose of  forcing  home  the  lesson  which  lies 
beneath  the  whole  of  the  Bible  record,  and 
which  the  bare  record  would  fail  to  drive 
home. 

Again,  what  bare  chronicle,  what  elabo- 
rate history  even — told  from  outside — could 
give  the  insight  into  the  inner  relations 
between  God  and  His  people  that  is  afforded 
by  the  lyrics  of  the  book  of  Psalms,  or  the 
oratory  of  the  book  of  Deuteronomy  f  Each 
one  of  these  literary  forms  is  particularly 
adapted  for  the  purpose  to  which  it  is  put ; 
and,  whether  by  image  or  song,  episode  or 
oration,  the  main  purpose  of  the  book  is 
ever  being  carried  out,  of  revealing  the  will 
of  God  to  man.  The  five  main  literary 
types    may    be    differentiated    as    History, 


Introdtution.  xiii 

Lyrics,  Philosophy,  Prophecy,  and  Parable  ; 
but  it  will  easily  be  seen  that  the  types  are 
apt  to  approach  each  other  very  closely  at 
times,  and  that  a  work  may  well  manifest 
some  of  the  characteristics  of  two  types. 
The  book  of  Job,  for  instance,  affords  ex- 
amples of  most  of  the  types,  while  the  Song 
of  Solomon  does  not  fall  easily  within  any  of 
the  classes.  Nevertheless,  for  general  pur- 
poses this  classification  will  serve  very  well. 


t$i  (gtBfeae  £tf  erasure* 

CHAPTER   I. 

HISTORY. 

The  historical  matter  in  the  Bible  is  both 
great  in  quantity  and  various  in  kind.    There 
is,    firstly,    the    historical    frame- 
work   referred    to  above,    which  "^g^f^ 
runs  through   the  whole  volume 
and   must   be   distinguished    from   the   epic 
incidents.     The  book  of  Genesis  opens  with 
the  barest  chronicle  of  the  beginnings  of  the 
world  and  some  few  epic*  incidents  merged 
in  it,  such  as  the  Fall,  the  death  of  Abel, 
the  Flood,  and  the  building  of  the  Tower  of 
Babel.      With    the    entrance    of   Abraham 
(chapter   xii. )    the  whole    character  of   the 
narrative     changes :     cycles     of 

Epic  incidents. 

stones,    centering  in    Abraham, 
Isaac,  Jacob,  and  Joseph,  take  the  place  ol 
the  chronicle,  and  from   this   point  onward 
the   epic  element   is   predominant.      A   few 


*  The  word  "  epic  "  must  not  be  confused  with  "  fiction  "  :  it 
merely  implies  that  the  events  are  told  in  a  manner  that  appeals 
to  imagination  and  sympathy,  and  not,  like  history,  merely  to 
the  sense  of  record. 

15 


1 6  The  Bible  as  Literature. 

instances  will  suffice  to  make  this  plain.  Be- 
tween verses  6  and  7  of  Exodus  i.,  a  period 
elapses  sufficient  to  permit  of  the  Hebrew 
tribe  reaching  the  proportions  of  a  menacing 
foe,  and  yet  there  is  no  chronicle  extant  ot 
the  period.  Likewise  the  bulk  of  the  judge- 
ship of  Samuel  is  pressed  into  three  verses 
(1  Sam.  vii.  15-17),  and  the  long  reigns  of 
Jeroboam  II.  and  Uzziah  have  each  to  be  con- 
tent with  seven  verses  (2  Kings  xiv.  23-29; 
xv.  1-7).  In  face  of  this  it  can  scarcely 
be  maintained  that  the  historical  books  of 
the  Bible  are  more  than  an  historical  frame- 
work with  epic  incidents  merged  in  them. 
Of  the  vividness  of  many  of  thefg  epic  inci- 
dents it  is  hard  to  speak  too  stfongly;  and 
the  effect  is  heightened  when,  as  in  the  story 
of  Balaam,  prose  gives  place  to  verse  at  each 
successive  climax. 

The  third  element  of  the  historical  litera- 
ture of  the  Bible  is  what  may  be  styled  either 
ecclesiastical      or      constitutional 

Ecclesiastical       .  , 

orconstitu-      history.       Not     that    the     terms 

tional  history.  ....  .  ,  ,  , 

are  ordinarily  interchangeable, 
but  the  peculiar  character  of  the  Hebrew 
state  renders  them  so.  Israel  had  no  law 
save  its  Mosaic  code,  no  constitution  save 
that  of  its  church,  and  hence  its  ecclesiastical 


History.  1 7 

history  is  constitutional,  and  its  constitutional 
ecclesiastical.  To  this  class  belong  a  con- 
siderable portion  of  Exodus  and  Numbers 
and  practically  all  of  Leviticus,  which  deal 
with  the  minute  regulations  laid  down  for  the 
performance  of  duties  towards  man  and  to- 
wards God.  The  books  of  Chronicles,  if  not 
so  completely  ecclesiastical  in  their  subject 
matter,  are  thoroughly  so  in  their  treatment ; 
and  in  like  manner  the  books  of  Ezra  and 
Nehemiah  deal  with  the  history  of  the  church 
as  restored  after  the  Exile.  The  Gospels  may, 
in  a  sense,  be  placed  in  this  class  also,  for 
they  are  historical,  but  at  the  same  time  they 
are  prophetic,  because  embodying,  in  the 
highest  degree,  the  divine  message  which 
constitutes  the  essence  of  prophecy. 


CHAPTER  II. 

LYRIC    LITERATURE. 

In  dealing  with  the  lyric  literature  of  the 
Bible  we  are  immediately  faced  by  the  diffi- 
culty which  arises  from  the  different  criteria 
for  verse  in  Hebrew  and  in  English.  We 
are  accustomed  to  associate  distinct  and  more 
or  less  regular  meter  with  verse,  and  in  ordi- 
nary parlance  we  make  no  distinction  between 
poetry  and  verse.  Now,  for  the  apprecia- 
tion of  the  literary  forms  of  the  Bible  both 
these  preconceived  ideas  must  be  abandoned. 
To  take  the  smaller  question  first,  poetry  is 
not  dependent  for  its  existence  upon  meter 
or  rhythm  or  any  characteristic  of  external 
form,  but  signifies  primarily  a  creation,  as 
distinguished  from  mere  discussion  of  what 
already  exists.  Thus  poetry  may  be  pure 
fiction  or  it  may  be  based  upon  a  foundation 
of  fact,  worked  upon  by  the  imagination;  but 
in  either  case  it  is  differentiated  by  its  spirit 
and  not  by  its  form.  The  distinction  between 
Hebrew  verse  and  English  verse  is  more  es- 


Lyric  Literatiire.  19 

sential  for  our  purpose,  as  we  shall  look  in 
vain  in  the  Bible  for  verse  after  the  English 
pattern,  since  Hebrew  verse  is  distinguished 
from  prose  not  by  syllabic  meter  but  by 
structural   parallelism. 

Thy  word  is  a  lamp  unto  my  feet, 
And  light  unto  my  path. 

This  often  has  the  effect  of  much  weaken- 
ing the  distinction  between  prose  and  verse, 
in  that  parallelism  is  a  recognized  feature  in 
the  rhetorical  prose  of  all  languages,  and  the 
study  of  the  particular  passage  as  a  whole 
must  be  depended  upon  for  making  clear 
whether  it  is  to  be  regarded  as  prose  or 
verse. 

The  lyrics  of  the  Bible  fall  under  six  main 
heads,  the  Song  of  Solomon  forming  a 
seventh  and  standing  by  itself. 

First  maybe  considered  the  elegies:  though 
here  as  elsewhere  care  must  be  taken 
not  to  associate  with  the  idea  the 
same  strictness  which  we  associate  with  ele- 
giacs in  Latin.  The  Hebrew  elegy,  at  first  a 
dirge  or  lament,  ultimately  loses  this  exclu- 
sive character  and  comes  to  be  the  expression 
of  powerful  emotion  of  any  kind.  Of  elegies 
in  the  stricter  sense  the  most  notable  exam- 
ples are  the  lamentations  of  Jeremiah,  David's 


20  The  Bible  as  Literature. 

lament  over  Saul    (2    Sam.   i. )   and   Psalm 
cxxxvii. 

Hymns  of  worship  are,  of  course,  largely 
represented  in  the  Bible,  and  present  con- 
siderable variety  both  in  form  and  matter. 
They  may  be  classified  under  the  heads  of 
general  thanksgiving,  specific  thanksgiving, 
and  private  meditations.     The  third  class  is 

naturally  the  least  elaborate  in 
wyr"hf  °f        form ;  or,  to  speak  more  accurately, 

the  form  has  an  elaborateness  of 
its  own,  acrostics — e.g.,  Psalm  cxix. — taking 
the  place  of  the  antiphonal  singing  which  was 
so  prominent  a  feature  of  Jewish  worship 
from  the  days  of  Moses  and  Miriam,  Deborah 
and  Barak,  onwards.  Of  perfectly  general 
thanksgivings  the  final  section  of  the  book  of 
Psalms  (cxlv.-cl. )  may  serve  as  a  typical  ex- 
ample ;  to  which  may  be  added  the  twin 
psalms,  so  to  speak,  both  singing  of  ever- 
watchful  providence  in  the  sphere  of  hu- 
man life  (ciii.)  and  external  nature  (civ.). 
The  Songs  of  Ascents  (cxx.-cxxxiv.)  must  be 
classed  among  the  specific  thanksgivings,  as 
having  reference  to  pilgrimages  or  other  spe- 
cific occasions,  although  there  is  no  trace  of 
agreement  among  scholars  as  to  the  precise 
signification  of  the  title.     Psalm  cxviii.  evi- 


Lyric  Literature. 


21 


dently  has  reference  to  some  special  visit  to 
the  temple,  and  seems  to  take  the  form  of 
dialogue,  as  the  subjoined  arrangement  will 
suggest. 

PSALM  CXVIII. 

The    Worshipper   and   His  Escort   approach  the 
Temple. 

Tutti.  O  give  thanks  unto  the  Lord  ;  for  he 

is  good  : 
For  his  mercy  endureth  forever. 
Worshipper.     Let  Israel  now  say — 
Escort.  That  his  mercy  endureth  forever. 

Worshipper.     Let  the  house  of  Aaron  now  say — 
Escort.  That  his  mercy  endureth  forever. 

Worshipper.     Let  them  now  that  fear  the   Lord 

say — 
Escort.  That  his  mercy  endureth  forever. 

Worshipper.     Out  of  my  distress  I  called  upon  the 

Lord  : 
The  Lord  answered  me,  and  set  me 

in  a  large  place. 
The  Lord  is  on  my  side,  I  will  not 

fear: 
What  can  man  do  unto  me  ? 
The  Lord  is  on  my  side  with  them 

that  help  me  : 
Therefore  shall  I  see  my  desire  upon 

them  that  hate  me. 

Escort.  It  is  better  to  trust  in  the  Lord 

Than  to  put  confidence  in  man  ; 


22 


The  Bible  as  Literature. 


It  is  better  to  trust  in  the  Lord 
Than  to  put  confidence  in  princes. 

Worshipper.     All  nations  compassed  me  about : 
Escort.  In  the  name  of  the  Lord  I  will  cut 

them  off ! 
Worshipper.    They  compassed  me  about ; 

Yea,  they  compassed  me  about : 
Escort.  In  the  name  of  the  Lord  I  will  cut 

them  off ! 
Worshipper.    They  compassed  me  about  like  bees  ; 
They  are  quenched  as  the  fire  of 

thorns : 
Escort.  In  the  name  of  the  Lord  I  will  cut 

them  off! 

Worshipper.    Thou  didst  thrust  sore  at  me  that  I 
might  fall : 

But  the  Lord  helped  me. 

The  Lord  is  my  strength  and  song  ; 

And  he  is  become  my  salvation. 

The  voice  of  rejoicing  and  salvation 
is  in  the  tents  of  the  righteous  : 

The  right  hand  of  the  Lord  doeth 
valiantly. 
Escort.  The  right  hand  of  the  Lord  is  exalted : 

The  right  hand  of  the  Lord  doeth 
valiantly. 
Worshipper.     I  shall  not  die,  but  live, 

And  declare  the  works  of  the  Lord. 

The  Lord  hath  chastened  me  sore  : 

But  he  hath  not  given  me  over  unto 
death. 

Open  to  me  the  gates  of  righteous- 
ness : 


Lyric  Literature. 


23 


I  will  enter  into  them, 

I  will  give  thanks  unto  the  Lord. 

The  Temple  Gates  open  and  disclose  a  Chorus  of 

Priests. 
Priests.  This  is  the  Gate  of  the  Lord  : 

The  righteous  shall  enter  into  it. 

Worshipper.    I  will  give  thanks  unto  thee,  for  thou 
hast  answered  me, 
And  art  become  my  salvation. 
The  stone  which   the   builders  re- 
jected 
Is  become  the  head  of  the  corner. 
Escort.  This  is  the  Lord's  doing  ; 

It  is  marvelous  in  our  eyes. 
This  is  the  day  which  the  Lord  hath 

made ; 
We  will  rejoice  and  be  glad  in  it. 
Save  now,  we  beseech  thee,  O  Lord  : 
O  Lord,  we  beseech  thee,  send  now 
prosperity. 

The  Worshipper  enters  the  Temple :  the  Escort  pre- 
pare to  retire. 
Priests  (to  the  Worshipper). 

Blessed  be  he  that  entereth  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord  ! 
(to  the  Escort  retiring). 

We  have  blessed  you  out  of  the 
house  of  the  Lord  ! 

Priests.  The  Lord  is  God,  and  he  hath  given 

us  light : 
Bind  the  sacrifice  with  cords,  even 
unto  the  horns  of  the  altar. 


24  The  Bible  as  Literature. 

Worshipper.    Thou  art  my  God,  and  I  will  give 
thanks  unto  thee : 
Thou  art  my  God,  I  will  exalt  thee. 

Tutti.  O  give  thanks  unto  the  Lord ;  for 

he  is  good  : 
For  his  mercy  endureth  forever. 

One  more  example  must  be  quoted  because 
of  its  perfect  rhythmic  structure,  and  that 
is  Psalm  cvii. ,  the  Song  of  the  Redeemed. 
The  psalm  has  an  invocation  (verses  1-3), 
an  epilogue  (verses  33-42),  and  four  sec- 
tions, each  closing  with  the  refrain,  "Oh, 
that  men  would  praise  the  Lord  for  his 
goodness  and  for  his  wonderful  works  to  the 
children  of  men,"  a  further  commentary  be- 
ing added  in  each  case  to  suit  the  experience 
which  has  just  been  described.  But  on  closer 
examination  it  will  be  seen  that  the  four 
sections,  verses  4-9,  10-16,  17-22,  23-32, 
do  not  simply  answer  each  other  after  the 
manner  of  strophe  and  anti-strophe,  for  the 
first  and  fourth  go  together  and  the  second 
and  third.  In  other  words,  the  thought- 
rhythm  of  the  sections — as  is  the  case  in 
the  meter  of  Tennyson's  In  Memoriam — is 
abba,  not  a  b  a  b.  The  first  and  fourth 
tell  of  misfortune  and  restoration,  the  second 
and  third  of  rebellion,  discipline,  and  resto- 


Lyric  Literature.  25 

ration  when  the  discipline  has  done  its  work. 
The  various  odes*  upon  special  occasions 
which  are  found  in  the  Bible  do  not  differ 
perhaps     essentially      from      the 

.  Odes  upon 

hymns         Of        worship  noticed    special  oc- 

casions. 

above,  except  that  they  are  not 
composed  primarily  from  the  standpoint 
of  worship.  To  take  a  modern  paral- 
lel :  the  opening  stanzas  of  In  Memoriam 
are  often  included  in  hymn  books  of  the  pres- 
ent day,  and  very  appropriately,  too;  but  this 
is  not,  of  course,  a  hymn  in  the  same  sense 
as  those  among  which  it  is  found,  being, 
rather,  a  special  ode.  Of  these  Biblical  odes 
those  that  naturally  occur  first  to  the  mind 
are  the  various  Songs  of  Deliverance,  such  as 
the  Song  of  Deborah  {Judges  v. ),  the  Song  of 
Moses  and  Miriam  {Exodus  xv. ),  David's 
Song  of  Thanksgiving  (2  Sam.  xxii.  ;  Psalm 
xviii. ),  and  Psalms  xlvi.  and  xlviii. ,  both  ol 
which  may  very  possibly  have  reference  to 
the  destruction  of  the  host  of  Sennacherib. 
Other  odes  may  be  associated  with  specific 
ceremonies ;  for  example,  there  is  much  to 
suggest  that  Psalms  xxiv.,  xxx.,  lxviii.,  and 
cxxxii.    all   formed  part  of  the  actual — or  a 

*  The  "  ode  "  is  not  a  definite  term  ;  but  is  used  for  song  in 
its  highest  form. 


26  The  Bible  as  Literature. 

commemorative — ceremonial  of  bringing  the 
ark  to  Jerusalem.  As  occasional  odes  of 
a  private,  not  national,  character  may  be 
mentioned  the  Song  of  Hannah  (i  Sam.  ii.), 
the  Song  of  Habakkuk  (Hab.  iii. ),  and  the 
Songs  of  Mary,  Zacharias,  and  Simeon 
{Luke  i.  and  ii.). 

Of  drama,  in  the  strict  sense  of  the  word, 
there  is  none  in  the  Bible,  but  there  are 
numerous  lyrics  which  are  essentially  dra- 
matic in  character,  in  that  they  represent 
changes  of  situation,  which,  however,  are  not 
related  from  without  in  the  form  of  a  narra- 
tive, but  unfold  themselves.  This  will  be  il- 
lustrated by  an  analysis  of  Psalm 
iyrics.atlc  cxxxix.  In  the  opening  verses 
the  psalmist  is  oppressed  with  the 
sense  of  the  omniscience  and  omnipresence 
of  God ;  he  would  fain  escape,  but  he  knows 
not  whither  to  go  for  he  finds  God  every- 
where. And  as  the  natural  world  is  laid  bare 
to  the  eye  of  God,  so  is  man's  inner  nature, 
not  one  single  element  coming  into  existence 
without  His  knowledge,  nor  continuing  to 
exist  without  His  watchful  care.  This  ' '  ob- 
verse side  of  omniscience, "  so  to  speak,  cre- 
ates a  revulsion  of  feeling,  so  strong  that  the 
psalmist,    instead    of    regarding    God    as    a 


Lyric  Literahire.  27 

rigid  taskmaster,  proclaims  himself  His  ally, 
and  the  psalm,  which  opened  with  half-petu- 
lant, "Lord,  thou  hast  searched  me,"  ends 
with  an  eager,  "Search  me,  O  God." 

Under  the  title  "Historical  Odes"  are  in- 
cluded those  lyrics — e.  g. ,  Psalms  lxxviii. ,  cv. , 
and  cvi.  and  Deuteronomy  xxxii. 
— which  give,  as  it  were,  a  bird's-  "des°rical 
eye  view  of  the  national  history, 
and  constitute  an  appeal  to  the  nation  to  re- 
view the  past  in  the  interest  of  the  present 
and  the  future.  This  poetic  presentation  of 
history  naturally  allows  of  great  latitude  in 
the  matter  of  detail.  Psalms  cv.  and  cvi. 
present  an  intelligible  sequence  of  events  to  the 
end  of  the  wanderings,  or  perhaps  to  the  cap- 
tivity, and  Psalm  lxxviii.  does  the  same,  bring- 
ing the  history  down  to  the  days  of  David. 
In  Psalm  lxxviii.  the  history  is  presented  in  a 
rhythmic  succession  of  manifestations  of  hu- 
man frailty  followed  by  divine  interposition.  In 
Deuteronomy  xxxii.,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
knowledge  of  the  historical  facts  is  assumed, 
and  the  ode  is  a  philosophical  reflection  upon 
them.  To  this  a  fine  parallel  is  to  be  seen  in 
Mr.  Matthew  Arnold's  Obermann  Once 
More. 

Separate  from  the  above  must  be  considered 


28  The  Bible  as  Literature. 

odes  like  Genesis  xxvii.  27-29,  39-40,  Deuter- 
onomy xxxiii.,  and  the  prophecies 
odes.hetl°  °f  Balaam  in  Numbers  xxii.-xxiv. 
They  partake  somewhat  of  the 
nature  of  oracular  responses,  with  the  neces- 
sary difference  which  must  arise  from  the  cir- 
cumstances of  their  origin.  They  are  often 
riddles,  but  the  element  of  obscurity  and 
ambiguity  is  incidental  rather  than  essential; 
and  the  blessing  of  Moses  and  the  orations 
of  Balaam  do  not  confine  themselves  to  the 
foretelling  of  the  future,  but  also  give  counsel 
for  the  present. 

Of  the  Song  of  Solomon  it  is  extremely 

difficult  to  speak  with  any  confidence,  either 

as  to  its  meaning  or  its  literary 

SohmZg  °f  form-  It:  nas  a  lar¥e  lvric  element, 
and  it  presents  the  main  charac- 
teristic of  dramatic  poetry,  namely,  story  un- 
folded in  dialogue  and  action;  and  yet  it  is 
neither  an  ode  nor  a  drama  of  the  ordinary 
kind.  There  is  not  any  opportunity  here  of 
discussing  the  structure  of  the  book  in  detail, 
and  no  more  can  be  said  than  that  the 
theory  which  presents  fewest  difficulties  is 
that  which  regards  it  as  a  series  of  pictures, 
or  idyls,  all  having  their  center  in  the  wooing 
of  a  certain  Shulammite;  but  whether  she  is 


Lyric  Literature.  29 

wooed  by  a  humble  lover,  who  has  King 
Solomon  for  his  rival,  or  by  King  Solomon, 
under  the  disguise  of  a  humble  lover,  cannot 
be  argued  here.* 


*  For  this  and  for  so  many  other  knotty  points  in  connection 
with  this  subject,  reference  should  be  made  to  Dr.  R.  G. 
Moulton's  forthcoming  Literary  Study  of  the  Bible  (D.  C. 
Heath  &  Co.,  Boston). 


CHAPTER  III. 

PHILOSOPHY. 

Although  this  branch  of  Bible  literature 
has  perfectly  distinct  characteristics  of  its 
own,  it  is  far  from  easy  to  find  at  all  a  satis- 
factory name  for  it.  By  "philosophy"  is 
generally  denoted  the  sum  total  of  the  laws 
which  govern  mental,  moral,  and  physical 
existence,  those  laws  being  first  arrived  at  by 
observation  and  then  reduced  to  system,  the 
term  ' '  science  ' '  being  more  commonly, 
though  not  exclusively,  used  when  dealing 
with  the  phenomena  of  physical  existence. 
What  biology  is  to  physical  life  the  wisdom 
literature  of  the  Bible  is  to  moral  life ;  it 
states  and  systematizes  the  dictates  of  moral- 
ity. It  differs  from  prophecy  in  not  pre- 
tending to  the  solemnity  of  a  divine  message, 
but  only  embodying  the  reflections  of  the  wise. 

The  germ  from  which  the  whole  of  this 
species  of  literature  is  developed 

The  proverb.     /  .  . 

is  the   proverb,   or   wise   saying. 
Its   form   is  usually   that   of  a   couplet,   the 

3° 


Philosophy.  3 1 

second  section  of  which  reaffirms  the  first, 
either  directly  or  by  contrast,  e.  g.: 

a.  The  liberal  soul  shall  be  made  fat, 

And  he  that  watereth  shall  be  watered  also  him- 
self. (Prov.  xi.  25.) 

b.  He  that  is  surety  for  a  stranger  shall  smart  for  it, 
But  he  that  hateth  suretiship  is  sure. 

(Prov.  xi.  15.) 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  the  vast  majority 
of  the  Biblical  proverbs  are  in  the  form  of  a 
couplet,  as  above,  whereas  in  English  the 
tendency  is  just  the  other  way.  This  must 
be  put  down  to  that  Hebrew  predilection  for 
parallelism  which  has  been  referred  to  al- 
ready. Sometimes  the  couplet  takes  the 
form  of  a  simile,  thus  presenting  two  or 
more  sets  of  ideas  instead  of  only  one,  e.  g.: 

As  snow  in  summer  and  as  rain  in  harvest, 
So  honour  is  not  seemly  for  a  fool. 

(Prov.  xxvi.  i.) 

Between  the  simple   proverb-couplet   and 
the  essay  must  be  noticed  the  proverb-cluster 
and  the  expanded  proverb.    Both  Proverb_ 
differ  from  the  simple  proverb  in  expanded 
their    tendency  towards    system-  Proverb- 
atized     thought.       In     the     proberb-cluster 
(unlike    the    essay)    it    is    always    possible 
to    conceive    of   a    portion    of   the    matter 


32  The  Bible  as  Literature. 

being  removed  without  a  gap  being  nec- 
essarily discernible  in  the  general  sense 
of  the  passage.  An  example  may  be  seen 
in  Proverbs  xxvi.  3-12,  a  cluster  of  sayings 
on  Fools.  Expanded  proverbs  of  a  very 
rhythmic  type  are  to  be  found  among  the 
words  of  Agur  (Prov.  xxx. ) .  And  if  '  'three' ' 
be  read  for  "them"  in  xxx.  7 — as  is  re- 
quired not  only  by  the  parallelism  with  the 
other  clusters  but  also  by  the  fact  of  three 
things,  not  two,  being  specified — the  balance 
is  most  perfect  : 

Two  things  have  I  asked  of  thee  : 
Deny  me  not  three  before  I  die  : 
Remove  far  from  me  vanity  and  lies  : 
Give  me  neither  poverty  nor  riches  : 
Feed  me  with  the  food  that  is  needful  for  me, 
Lest  I  be  full  and  deny  thee,  and  say,  Who  is 
the  Lord  ? 
Or  lest  I  be  poor  and  steal, 
And  use  profanely  the  name  of  my  God. 

The  species  of  wisdom  literature  which  has 
been  styled  "  essay  "  must  be  compared,  not 
with  the  highly  elaborated  essays  of  Lord 
Macaulay,  but  rather  with  the  dissertations 
which  form  the  chapters  of  Thomas  a  Kempis'  s 
De  Imitatione  Christi,  or  with  the  essays  of 
Francis  Bacon,  concerning  which  the  author 
says  :     "  They  of  all  my  other  workes,  have 


Philosophy.  33 

beene  most  currant  :     For  that,  as  it  seemes, 
they  come  home,  to  Men's  Busi- 

.,  ..  Essays. 

nesseand  Bosomes.  The  Biblical 
essay  differs  from  the  proverb-cluster  in 
the  strong  organic  union  which  character- 
izes the  former,  every  clause  contributing 
its  own  essential  portion  to  the  argument. 
As  an  example  take  St.  James  ii.  1-13:  On 
Respect  of  Persons. 

But  this  section  of  Biblical  literature  is 
peculiarly  incapable  of  being  studied  apart 
from  actual  examples;  and  as  the  examples 
are  naturally  too  long  for  quotation,  the  vari- 
ous books  in  which  the  ' '  wisdom  ' '  of  the 
Bible  is  embodied  must  receive  some  indi- 
vidual attention.*  Unlike  the  other  literary 
types  the  ' '  wisdom  ' '  of  the  Bible  is  almost 
exclusively  contained  in  a  few  books  instead 
of  being  distributed  among  many,  those 
books  being  Proverbs,  Ecclesiastes,  the 
Epistle  of  St.  James,  and  apocryphal  books 
of  Ecclesiasticus  and  Wisdom. 

Each  of  these  books  has  its  own  characteris- 
tics. In  the  book  of  Proverbs  the  maxims  are, 
as  the  title  suggests,  mostly  in  the  simple  form, 


*  Macmillan  &  Co.  announce  a  series  of  books  of  wisdom 
{Proverbs,  Ecclesiasticus,  Ecclesiastes,  with  Wisdom  of  Solo- 
mon and  Job) :  each  of  the  four  published  in  a  separate  volume, 
edited  in  modern  literary  form  by  Professor  R.  G.  Moulton. 


34  The  Bible  as  Literature. 

even  proverb-clusters  being  few  in  number ;  in- 
deed, the  only  passages  showing  any  consid- 
erable degree  of  elaboration  are  the  dramatic 
monologues  in  which  wisdom  personified 
makes  her  appeal  to  the  sons  of  men  (i.  20- 
33  ;  viii.  4-36). 

Ecclesiasticus  resembles  Proverbs  in  that 
the  maxims  contained  in  them  both 
are  those  which  bear  upon  the  ordinary, 
practical  matters  of  daily  life.  But  in  the 
apocryphal  book  essays  and  proverb-clus- 
ters to  a  great  extent  supplant  the  simple 
proverb;  and  it  moreover  presents  a  new  ele- 
ment in  the  oration  upon  the  works  of  the 
Lord  (xlii.  15-xliii. ),  and  the  well-known 
Panegyric  upon  Famous  Men,  from  Enoch  to 
Simon,  son  of  Onias  (xliv.-l.  24).  Ecclesi- 
astes  opens  up  a  new  phase  of  "wisdom,"  for 
throughout  it  attempts  to  arrive  at  what  is 
scarcely  hinted  at  in  the  above-mentioned 
works — a  philosophy  of  life  as  a  whole  ;  and 
the  single  maxims  and  the  essays  alike  are 
only  introduced  as  contributions  towards  the 
formation  of  that  philosophy. 

The  book  of  Wisdom  shares  with  Ecclesi- 
astes  the  characteristic  of  being  an  effort  to- 
wards a  philosophy  of  life  as  a  whole;  though 
the  standpoint  is  different,  and  the  maxims 


Philosophy .  35 

find  expression  in  sustained  discourses  instead 
of  a  series  of  sorrowful  or  indignant  outbursts. 
But  with  chapter  x.  comes  a  very  marked 
change,  and  for  the  remainder  of  the  book 
wisdom  personified,  very  much  in  our  sense 
of  Providence,  is  pictured  as  watching  over 
the  successive  stages  of  the  history  of  the 
chosen  people,  the  narrative  repeatedly  going 
off  into  digressions,  one  of  which — the  dis- 
course on  the  folly  of  idolatry  (chapter  xiii.- 
xv. ) — is  particularly  full  of  literary  beauty. 
The  wonderful  imaginative  power  of  this 
book  will  best  be  realized  by  comparisons  of 
its  treatment  of  topics  with  the  treatment  of 
the  same  topics  in  other  writings.  Take,  for 
example,  the  favorite  Jewish  problem  of  the 
righteous  in  adversity  as  dealt  with  in  Psalm 
lxxiii.,  and  then  turn  to  Wisdom  v.  where 
the  inmost  hearts  of  the  arrogant  are  un- 
veiled. A  similar  comparison  may  with  ad- 
vantage be  instituted  between  the  story  of 
the  plague  of  darkness  as  given  in  Exodus 
x.  21-23  and  m  Wisdom  xvii. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

PROPHECY. 

It  may  be  conceded  at  once  that  the  pro- 
phetic literature  of  the  Bible  belongs  to  a 
type  which  has  no  direct  analogy  in  modern 
literature,  and  which  is  differentiated  by  its 
matter — and  by  only  one  characteristic  of 
that — and  not  by  its  form.  The  great  essen- 
tial feature  which  marks  off  Biblical  prophecy 
from  all  other  writings  is  that  it  is  the  direct 
embodiment  of  the  divine  message,  spoken 
' '  in  divers  portions  and  in  divers  manners 
through  the  prophets."  That  the  possible 
varieties  of  literary  form  in  this  branch  are 
few  will  easily  be  realized,  but  the  body  of 
prophetic  writings  is  second  to  none  in  im- 
portance and  in  force. 

At  the  very  outset  prophecy  falls  into  two 

main    sections,    following    the   two    distinct 

meanings  of  the  Greek  word  from 

of7roPphhaeScyS     which  it  is  derived.     The  Greek 

conception  of  a  prophet  was  of  a 

man  who  interpreted  the  will  of  the  gods  to 

36 


Prophecy.  37 

men;  and,  as  the  message  so  often  told  con- 
cerning the  future,  the  modern  meaning  of  the 
word  crept  in  beside  the  original,  but  the 
essence  of  the  prophet's  function  was  "forth- 
telling,"  rather  than  "foretelling."  The 
Elizabethan  use  of  "prophesying,"  as  syn- 
onymous with  "preaching,"  reflects  the 
same  ambiguity.  Thus  Biblical  prophecy 
falls  under  the  two  heads  of  preaching  and 
prediction,  the  two  being  at  times  so  close 
as  to  be  incapable  of  separation,  though  at 
others  they  are  perfectly  distinct.  The 
preaching  of  righteousness,  which 
was  always  so  important  an  element  Jg^eacfter.1 
in  the  prophet's  mission,  finds  its 
prototype  in  the  magnificent  orations  of 
Moses  as  given  in  Deuteronomy  (i.  6  to 
iv.  40;  v.  1.  to  xi.  32;  xxviii;  xxix.  2  to 
xxxi.  8.);  but  the  same  class  of  inspired 
rhetoric  is  to  be  found  in  all  the  books  asso- 
ciated with  the  names  of  the  prophets.  But 
prophetic  utterances  are  very  far  from  being 
all  cast  alike  in  this  simple  mould.  Some  take 
the  form  of  dialogues,  others  are  contained 
in  dreams,  visions,  or  parables — these  last  are 
so  characteristic  a  mode  of  expressing  thought 
in  Hebrew  literature  as  to  call  for  sep- 
arate treatment.    Others,  as  the  message  of 


38  The  Bible  as  Literature. 

Joel,  call  into  requisition  several  literary 
forms,  the  better  to  enforce  the  word  of  the 
Lord.  The  prophecy  of  Joel  opens  with  a 
dramatic  lyric  depicting  the  desolation  of  the 
land  and  the  impending  doom.  A  trumpet- 
blast  announces  that  the  day  of  the  Lord  has 
come,  and  His  vengeance  is  working  through 
the  agency  of  the  nations,  when,  by  a  sudden 
transition  (ii.  12),  an  opportunity  for  re- 
pentance is  held  forth :  ' '  Who  knoweth 
whether  he  will  not  turn  and  repent,  and 
leave  a  blessing  behind  him. ' '  The  oppor- 
tunity is  seized,  a  solemn  assembly  is  con- 
vened, and  amid  national  humiliation  the 
Lord  is  besought  to  have  mercy  upon  His 
people.  Then  follows  the  restoration  of  the 
nation  to  favor,  with  assurances  of  renewed 
worldly  prosperity.  But  the  restoration  is 
not  to  stop  at  the  point  of  giving  back  what 
had  been  lost:  Israel  is  told  again  of  a  lofty 
spiritual  mission  lying  before  it,  and  again 
the  "day  of  the  Lord"  is  spoken  of,  no 
longer,  however,  as  a  terror  to  Israel,  but  as 
the  season  when  it  shall  reap  the  harvest  of 
,the  gentiles.  Such  a  production  as  the 
message  of  Joel  is  far  too  irregular  and  abrupt 
in  its  transitions  to  admit  of  its  being  classi- 
fied under  any   of  the  recognized  literary 


Prophecy.  39 

forms  ;  it  bears  the  same  relation  to  them  as 
Liszt's  rhapsodies  do  to  Beethoven's  sonatas. 
The  book  of  Joel  partakes  essentially  of  the 
two  characteristics  of  prophecy:  the  prophet 
has  his  message  for  the  present, 
and  it  does  its  work ;  but  he  has  Jshf0Ser! 
also  his  message  concerning  the 
future,  both  of  Israel  and  of  the  other  nations 
of  the  earth.  A  great  proportion  of  this  sec- 
tion of  prophetic  literature  is  occupied  with 
messages  of  judgment  against  the  various 
nations  which  had  oppressed  Israel,  but 
Israel  itself  does  not  all  escape  without  its 
own  portion  of  denunciation.  It  must  also 
be  remembered  that  the  books  of  the  prophets 
contain  a  large  element  of  history,  introduced 
mainly  for  the  purpose  of  making  logically 
intelligible  the  messages  which  are  sent. 


CHAPTER  V. 

PARABLE. 

One  of  the  most  noticeable  of  the  general 
characteristics  of  Hebrew  literature  is  the 
predilection  manifested  for  imparting  and  re- 
ceiving instruction  by  picture,  image,  and 
parable;  and  the  amount  and  variety  of  litera- 
ture of  this  class  is  so  great  as  to  justify 
its  being  treated  by  itself,  although  there 
must  of  necessity  be  some  overlapping  be- 
tween this  and  the  other  classes  that  have 
been  noticed.  That  this  wealth  of  image- 
literature  is  due  to  a  permanent  mental  char- 
acteristic is  not  only  shown  by  its  profusion, 
but  also  by  its  appearing  when,  most  of  all, 
direct  speech  was  to  be  expected.  To  quote 
two  well-known  examples  :  when  Nathan  is 
sent  to  reprove  David  for  his  sin  he  comes 
with  a  parable  upon  his  lips;  and  when 
Ahijah  is  sent  to  acquaint  Jeroboam  of  the 
dignity  in  store  for  him  he  delivers  his 
message  in  an  acted  parable,  tearing  his 
new  cloak  into  twelve  pieces  and  giving 
Jeroboam  ten  of  them. 
40 


Parable.  4 1 

This  class  of  literature  falls  naturally  into 
three  classes:  the  parable,  the  prophetic 
vision,     and    the    book    of    Job. 

.  Parable. 

About  the  ordinary  parable  little 
need  be  said,  for  the  teaching  of  Jesus  has 
made  it  one  of  the  most  familiar  of  all  literary 
forms.  It  is  a  mistake,  however,  to  regard 
the  parable  as  at  all  an  exclusively  New  Testa- 
ment method  of  instruction.  The  parable  of 
the  trees  (Judges,  ix.),  of  the  ewe-lamb 
(2  Samuel,  xii.),  of  the  vineyard  {Isaiah,  v.), 
may  be  cited  as  examples  of  Old  Testament 
parables. 

Far    more   complicated    is   the   literature 
which    falls   under    the    head   of   prophetic 
visions.       A    moment's    thought 
will  bring  to   mind   instances   of  visions6.*10 
prophetic  messages  given,  not  in 
the  form  of  direct  address,  but  in  dreams  and 
visions  of  the  night,  all  taking  parabolic  shape. 
It  was  by  such  parabolic  vision  that   Peter 
was  prepared  for  the  great  lesson  he  had  to 
learn  concerning  the  gentiles  (Acts  x.  9-16), 
and   it   was   by   the   interpretation   of  such 
visions  that  both  Joseph  and   Daniel  rose  to 
positions   of    influence    in    their    respective 
courts.      Slightly  different  from  these  visions 
and  yet  belonging  to  the  same  class  is  what 


42  The  Bible  as  Literature. 

may  be  styled  "emblem  prophecy,"  the 
teaching  of  a  lesson  not  by  an  imaginary 
picture  but  by  reference  to  a  visible  object 
serving  as  text.  Under  the  Old  Testament 
dispensation  the  ceremonial  of  the  scapegoat 
was  a  living  parable,  which  will  serve  as  an 
example  of  this  medium  for  prophetic  in- 
struction ;  other  examples  are  to  be  found  in 
the  girdle  (Jer.  xiii. ),  the  baskets  of  figs  (Jer. 
xxiv. ),  and  Hosea's  domestic  grief  (Hosea 
i.-iii. ). 

The  classification  of  the  book  of  Job  among 
the  parables  of  the  Bible  involves  no  assump- 
tion as  to  the  historic  reality — or  otherwise — of 
the  facts  narrated.  Whichever 
lob  b°°k  °f  °pini°n  De  adopted  the  book  re- 
mains a  dramatized  parable,  with 
just  enough  of  an  epic  element  to  serve  as  a 
kind  of  frame.  The  great  problem  of  suffer- 
ing innocence,  treated  reflectively  in  Psalm 
lxxiii.,  imaginatively  in  Wisdom  v.,  is  here 
treated  dramatically  with  all  the  various  ele- 
ments of  interest — character,  action,  back- 
ground— which  drama  contributes.  Here  it 
will  only  be  possible  to  point  out  how  the 
book  contains  specimens  of  almost  all  the 
literary  types  which  have  been  described 
above.    There  is  first  the  epic  element,  which 


Parable.  43 

tells  of  Job  as  a  man  who  as  much  excels  his 
fellows  in  piety  as  he  does  in  worldly  pros- 
perity. Upon  this  man  there  falls  the  hand 
of  adversity,  and  almost  at  one  blow  he  is 
bereft  of  family  and  goods  and  all  that  made 
life  bright  to  him.  Then,  after  a  dirge  in 
which  he  bemoans  his  lot  and  curses  the  day 
of  his  birth,  his  friends  come  to  comfort  him, 
and  their  advent  inaugurates  what  may  be 
entitled  the  philosophical  element  of  the  book. 
They  come  armed  with  the  traditional  theory 
that  misfortune  and  suffering  were  always  the 
punishment  for  sin — a  theory  which  survived 
in  the  gospel  age  {John  ix.  2) — and  the  keen, 
almost  angry,  discussion  around  this  point 
forms  the  major  part  of  the  book.  Epic  and 
lyric  elements  in  the  book  have  already  been 
noticed,  and  in  this  section  there  is  lofty 
rhetoric  as  well  as  philosophy.  Then,  when 
Elihu  had  stated  with  vehemence  the  same 
theory  in  a  modified  form,  "the  Lord  an- 
swered Job  out  of  the  whirlwind."  It  is 
not  the  least  remarkable  feature  of  this  re- 
markable book  that  the  final  pronouncement 
on  the  great  central  question  at  issue  is  so 
utterly  out  of  harmony  with  traditional  Jew- 
ish opinion:  for  it  is  Job,  and  not  his  friends, 
who  is  declared  to  have  said  the  thing  that 


44  The  Bible  as  Literature. 

was  right.  Finally,  in  a  short  epic  section,  full 
of  the  peace  that  follows  upon  conflict,  the  nar- 
rative of  the  first  two  chapters  is  taken  up  ; 
the  prosperity  of  Job  returns,  his  "latter 
end"  is  blessed  "more  than  his  beginning," 
until  at  last  he  dies,  ' '  being  old  and  full  of 
days." 


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QUESTIONS. 

i  What  are  the  three  stages  in  the  history  which 
makes  the  "framework"  of  Biblical  litera- 
ture ? 

2  What  are  the  five  main  literary  types  recogniz- 

able in  the  books  of  Scripture  ?  Show  how 
the  book  of  Job  contains  literature  of  more 
than  one  type. 

3  What  is  meant  by  the  word  "  epic  "  ?    Give  an 

example  of  an  Epic  incident,  and  an  Epic 
Cycle. 

4  How  do  you  explain  the  fact  that  certain  parts 

of  the  Bible  can  be  called  either  Constitu- 
tional or  Ecclesiastical  History?  Do  the 
Gospels  come  under  this  head  ? 

5  Show  the  distinction  between  English  and  Bibli- 

cal verse.     Illustrate  by  quotations. 

6  Give  an  example  of  each  of  the  six  kinds  of 

lyrics  in  the  Bible. 

7  What  is  the  leading  interest  in  Psalm  cxviii.  as 

a  piece  of  literature  ? 

8  Show  any  special  literary  feature  in  Psalm  cvii. 

9  Why  is  Psalm  cxxxix.  called  "  dramatic  "  ? 

io  How  does  "Wisdom  literature"  differ  from 
prophecy  ? 

ii  Give  an  example  of  a  "  Proverb-cluster  "  and 
an  "  Essay,"  and  show  what  is  the  main  dif- 
ference between  these  two  literary  types. 

47 


48  The  Bible  as  Literature. 

12  What  is  the   chief  difference  between  Eccle- 

siastes  and  previous  books  of  wisdom  ? 

13  Compare  accounts  of  the  Plagues  of  Egypt  as 

given  in  Exodus  a.nd  in  Wisdom. 

14  Explain  the  meaning  of  the  word  "prophecy." 

15  Give  the  substance  of  the  Oration  of  Moses  in 

Deuteronomy  xxviii. 

16  Show  the  general  drift  of  the  book  of  Joel. 

17  Give  examples  of  parables  in  the  Old  Testa- 

ment. 

18  Give  an  example  of  a  parabolic  vision  in  the 

New  Testament. 

19  Explain  and  illustrate  what  is  meant  by  "Em- 

blem Prophecy." 

20  Show  that  more  than  one  view  of  the  mystery 

of  affliction  falling    upon    the  righteous  is 
contained  in  the  book  of  Job. 


3s* 


CSdR 


BS535  .M928 

The  Bible  as  literature. 

Princeton  Theological  Seminary-Speer  Library 


1   1012  00038  2962 


